The present invention relates to devices that convert information from one form to another, such as from electrical to optical form as in a liquid crystal display, for example, and, more particularly, relates to the provision of auxiliary address lines in information conversion devices that result in enhancement of the manufacturing yield of such devices.
Information conversion devices, such as liquid crystal displays, are typically arranged as a multiplicity of cells assembled in an X-Y matrix format. A plurality of X address lines is provided for electrically communicating with "X" locations of the device, while a plurality of Y address lines are provided for electrically communicating with "Y" locations of the device. A particular location in an information conversion device may be communicated with by use of the particular X and Y address lines that are associated with the location in question.
In the fabrication of information conversion devices, the occurrence of an address line that is open circuited is extremely difficult to avoid. Accordingly, some portion of the address line in which an open circuit exists is electrically isolated from external circuitry, whereby the device cells associated with such isolated portion fail to function properly. Cell failure adversely affects performance of an information conversion device by decreasing device resolution and resulting in false data generation. To minimize cell malfunctioning due to the presence of open circuits in address lines, it would be desirable to provide auxiliary address lines that may be electrically connected to portions of address lines that are otherwise in electrical isolation. This would permit normal operation of the cells associated with an otherwise isolated portion of an address line. As a consequence, the manufacturing yield of information conversion devices that exhibit high resolution and accurate data representation would be attained.